Dump your SUV stories

Deanna, North Hollywood
Deanna Edwards, 30, lives in North Hollywood with her husband, who works as a consultant to IT firms, and three kids. She owned a Chevy Blazer for three years because it was "in style" and the "new" thing. Four months ago in September, she traded it in for a 2003 Toyota Avalon XL because she realized the SUV was a "gas-guzzler," and poorly made. "We owned a Chevy Blazer and thought it was a piece of crap," Deanna says.

Kathleen, Pine Mountain Club, California
Kathleen and her husband are "30-somethings" who lives in the mountains above Los Angeles. As professional musicians, they often hit the road to tour, which led them to buy a Honda Passport from 1992 - 1994 and a Ford Explorer from 1999 to 2001 so they could carry their luggage and musical equipment.
Kathleen says her husband also liked being "above the traffic" so he could see farther ahead.

But they recently traded it in their SUV because it "wasn't safe," and the gas mileage was "horrendous." They now drive a 2001 Volvo Cross Country Wagon, which Kathleen says is ideal because it has four-wheel drive that helps them get around easily now that they live in a mountain community where its snow in the winter.

Nathan, San Francisco
Nathan, 26, has owned two Ford Explorer Sports - the first in 1997 and second in 1999 because he was very involved in rugged outdoor activities, such as rock-climbing, river kayaking, and backcountry skiing.

But he eventually ditched the SUV because of his "newly found urban-centric lifestyle." "The mass Ford recalls didn't help," adds Nathan, a web designer currently working for an international adventure travel company.

Nathan bought a 2002 Subaru Outback Sedan. He says the four-cylinder gets roughly double the miles per gallon of what his Explorer did, has a lower center of gravity, a more reliable four-wheel system, higher clearance, better resale value, and maneuvers better through traffic. Unlike SUVs, he says, the sedan is able to "span the gap of urban and mountain: valet parking at the club Friday night and throwing my climbing gear in the trunk the next day."

"Opting for the sedan was a bit of defiance, telling everyone in my city and mountain existence that I can carpool in luxury and still fit everything I would need in the mountains. I consider myself an early adopter, who's frustrated the market has not produced more options to satisfy my ecologically minded and ruggedly physical lifestyle."

Shannon from Livermore
Shannon, 24, is a social worker who owned a Jeep Wrangler for three years, which she bought in college for camping and other outdoor activities. She traded it in because she realized "four wheeling is destructive to nature." "I was only getting 15 mpg, which is horrible for commuting and pollution!" she told us.

She is now in the market for a Toyota Prius Hybrid because the gas mileage is "phenomenal" and emissions are below standards. "Go Toyota!" Shannon says.

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